Method of making wire rope



Feb. 5, 1935.

R. D. GREEN ET AL.

METHOD OF' MAKING WIRE ROPE Filed OGL.v l2, 1932 ATTORNEYS BY v Patented Feb. s, 1935 I 1,990,071

UNHED STATES PATENTfOFFlCE 1,990,971 METHOD F MAKING WIRE ROPE Richard Duane Green and William E. Craig, Trenton, N. l., assignors to John A. Roeblings Sons Company, Trenton, N. J., a corporation of New nHersey Application October 12, 1932, Serial No.r63l,442

' 3 Claims. (Cl. 117-16) This invention relates to the manufacture of The accompanying drawing shows a simple mawire rope, its object being to provide a novel chine which may be used for twisting the wires. method of making such rope. In the drawing:

In the manufacture of wire rope in the so Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of 5 called planetary machine, the wire supply spools the machine; and

are given a reverse rotation relatively to the ro- Figure 2 is a similar sectional plan view of the tating ier or frame carrying the spools so as distributor and winding-up spool. to avoid or control the torsion in thelwires result- A is the rotating ilier in which wire spool B is ing from a revolution of the bobbins with the mounted to rotate for unwinding the wire, the

flier, and such reverse rotation of the spools has ilier Abeingdriven by the pulley 10. Cisapull-oi 10 been arranged in some cases so that a small of common type mountedin the frame D. E is a amount of twist is secured in the wires,A which distributor mountedinframe F, andGawindingmay be in the same direction as the helices are up spool mounted in frame H. The wire a: passes laid up or opposed to them, that is, over-twist or from. spool B through the central passage in rol5 under-twist, this being found of advantage in tating ier A and is twisted by the rotation of l5 certain kinds of wire rope. Such planetary mathe flier as drawn oi by the pull-off C, over which chines, however, necessarily operate at a comit passes, through the distributor E, where it is paratively slow speed because o the large diarntraversed for layers on the spool G, this traverse eter and heavy weight of the rotating nier carrybeing secured by guide 11 traversed to and fro ing the spools, and there are other serious obby the rotating shaft l2 with the double helix, 20 jections to this type of machine inproducing overas usual in such distributors. The advance and twists or under-twists. n outer ends of the wire may be secured to the In accordance with the presentinvention, we spool G to prevent untwisting in any suitable twist the wires on their axes in the spooling mamanner, Vand as shown, are passed respectively chine or otherwise before passing them into the through openings 1, 2 in the side flanges of the 25 laying up machine, so that locked spools or floatspool G and tied around the flange. Any desiredv ing spool cradles may be used in the laying up twist or number of twists may be secured, this demachine, and we thus secure important advanpending upon the .rotative speed of hier A relatages in the manufacture of the rope. tively to the rate of pull 01T.

The twist is preferably put into the individual With the twist thus put into the wires inde- 3o wires in winding the wire on the spools, and this pendently of the laying up Ymachine, the wires may be done in a spooling machine separate from may be used in any common or suitable type of the laying up machine, or the laying up machine laying up machine, for instance, in the common may be vprovided with a twisting mechanism sepplanetary machine, and the bobbins may be locked arate from and in advance of the laying up so as to change the twist previously put into the 35 mechanism, and the twisted wires led direct from wires or may be run with a rotation reverse to such twisting mechanism to the laying up mathe flier so as to modify the previous twist, or chine, the twists in the wires being maintained to maintain the previous twist, but an important from such twisting mechanism to the rope closing advantage of the invention is that the previously point. twisted wires may be used in the common hori- 4o If the twists are put in the wires in a spooling zontal machine with oating spool cradles mountmachine separate from the laying up machine, ed axially to the iiier or rotating spool carrying and the spools then transferred to the laying trame, in which case the twist put in previously up machine, the end of the wire will be secured will not be changed, or may be used in any mato the spool before winding up and the outer chine in which the rope is-rotated for laying up 45 end of the wire after spooling, so as to hold the the wires, and in the latter type of machine either twists put into the wires and the wire from the with reverse rotation of the bobbins to vary the supply spools will be threaded into the laying up twists previously put into the wires or otherwise. machine with the twist thereon and secured at The single core wire used in metal core rope also the rope closing point. A convenient way to may haye a suitable twist put into it by supplying 50 maintain the twist in threading up is to clip the the twist independently of the laying up machine wire to prevent untwisting or to twist the wire or may be used without twist as usual. further for a short length so as to compensate for 'Ihe invention may be used and is of particular any untwisting in threading up so as to maintain value in making rope formed vof individual wires these twists up to the closing point. J laid up helically and a plurality of such rope 55 diameter and less wires in the strand may then be laid up helically to form a rope, or the invention may be used in twisting strands previous to their use in the laying. up machine. As the twist may be made of any amount desired, it has been found possible to twist the wires in a direction opposed to the laying up helix to such an extent as to prevent the crankiness or tendency to coiling or kinking of ordinary rope and even offset the tendency of the wires or strands to uncoil and spread out at a cut end or birdcage, and thus make a so called dead lay rope without preforming to permanent helices.

Many important advantages in rope manufacture are secured by the invention, including among others, the following:

A great increase in speed of manufacture, and consequent decrease in cost is possible as compared with the planetary machine. 'Ihe common horizontal machine with the spools in axially mounted floating cradles may be run much more rapidly because of the comparatively small Weight of the rotating iiier or frame, but it is impossible to put in the desired overand under-twists with the floating cradles. By putting the desired twist into the wires in the spooling machine, or otherwise independentup machine, the rope with any desired twists may be made in such a horizontal machine with consequent great increase in the speed of manufacture. 'Ihe importance oi' this is evident from the fact that such horizontal machines usually are and the planetary machines about R. P. M.

A more uniform twist for the wires is secured than by the planetary machine with over-twist or under-twist because of the shorter length of wire handled in twisting, thus providing better control of the wires. Moreover, in planetary two or more tiers of or under-twists in the These diiiiculties in the planetary machines with a long run of wire are increased, also, by the friction of the wire guides which are necessary between the spools and closing point, thus aiiecting the twists, is true as to the horizontal ma 'I'his friction may readily be compensated for by the previous twists of the present Moreover, the twist in the wires tends to prevent,the eiiect oi.' the friction accumulating in a section of the rope, and a more uniform product is obtained.

Spooling machines or other mechanism for twisting the wires independently of the laying twists as desired, while in securing widely va ried over-twists or under-twists in planetary machines, it is practically this enabling the production oi' rope of widely varying characteristics.

In making lang lay rope, the twists of the strands may readily be in either direction and in any amount desired, so that exactly the eil'ect desired in the lang lay rope may run about 600 R. P. M..

necessary to design Y be secured, and such lang lay rope may be made with the desired twists in a horizontal machine with floating spool cradles or in any other machine arranged for avoiding torsion.

vIn making lang lay rope, also, it is possible to produce a tighter rope than with the methods now in use. Attempts have been made to tighten The twists may be calculated so as to allow for the tendency to crankiness in the usual standard wire rope and avoid this crankiness so that the rope will lie straight without coiling or kinking on itself, and, as stated above, it is possible to make dead lay rope without preforming, by making the twist such as to compensate for the tendency of the wires to spread at the end or birdcage.

The term rope used herein is intended as a broad term including rope or rope strand made by laying up helically a number of individual wires, and rope `made by laying up helically a number of strands made of individual wires, and the term wire is used to include both single wires and strands formed of a plurality ofwires, unless otherwise specified.

What is claimed is:

1. 'I'he method of making wire rope, which consists in twisting some or all o1' the rope wires on their axes, then transferring the twisted wires to the laying up machine while maintaining the twists, and laying up the rope wires helically to form the ro 2. The method of making rope having a wire core, which consists in twisting the core wire and some or all of the outer wires on their axes, then transferring the 4. The method oi' making wire rope, which consists in twisting some or all oi' the outer rope wires and a core wire on their axes, winding the consists in twisting some or all wires helically to form the rope.

7. The method of making wire rope formed of strands of a plurality oi individual wires, which consists in twisting some` or all of the individual their axes, then transferring the the laying up machine'and 1ay strand wires on twisted wires to ing up the wires helically to form the strand, and then laying up the strands helically to form the rope.

8. The method of making wire rope, which consists in twisting some or all of the wires on their axes before submitting them to the laying up motion, then transferring the wires to the mechanism producing the laying up motion and producing the laying up motion by a relative motion of revolution between the twisted wires and the nished rope to lay up the wires helically to form the rope.

Y. RICHARD DUANE GREEN.

WILLIAM E. CRAIG. 

